The glass eye rescue

More than a decade ago, one of the most unusual and impressive public works rescues took place – underground, in a sewer pipe.

Imagine trying to find a needle in a haystack. Now imagine that needle is a glass prosthetic eye lost in a maze of wastewater mains.

In honor of National Public Works Week, we’re celebrating “People, Purpose, Presence.”  Public works often go unnoticed; if they do a great job, you can barely tell. Everything just works.

This is one of many incredible stories from our exceptional public works crews in Gresham.

Photo above: A young John Angus and Dan Forrest, Wastewater Operations, circa 2012.

Photo below: John Angus today, left, with a debris basket, and Brenden Hoberg, right, who used a TV camera to look for the glass eye.

Curiosity and fallen things

John Angus, Senior Public Utility Worker, Wastewater, remembers it like yesterday …

“The crew was going about a normal day of routine cleaning. A call came in that a citizen had been looking down at a sewer clean out, when their loose-fitting glass eye fell out of its socket.”

The team inspected the sewer lines in front of the home using a camera (TV-ing), but there was no sign of the missing eye. As a last resort, they began hydro jetting the main lines. However, the call came in late in the afternoon.

“So, we cleaned what we could before the end of the shift. Then we went to the wastewater treatment plant to check the truck’s debris tank,” Angus said. “Unfortunately, it was not retrieved.”

Undeterred, the team returned the next day for one final effort. That morning, they found the glass eye – staring back at them from inside a debris basket.

“It was cleaned with some 99% alcohol hand sanitizer and returned to the owner, Angus said. “And all was well again in Gresham.”

Photo: Longtimers John Angus, left, and Brenden Hoberg, right, Wastewater Operations, describe a debris tank while remembering the rescue.

‘It was wild’

“We sifted through 10 gallons of grit and debris and found it,” Angus said. “It was wild.”

The owner was shocked – and deeply grateful.

Normally, crews can’t recover every item lost in the sewer. But a glass eye prosthetic is expensive and highly personal.

“We weren’t upset about the search,” Angus said. “It’s always nice when you can help the customer out.”

From road repairs and freezing weather to stormwater management and keeping our drinking water clean, these fine folks keep Gresham running smoothly, every day.

Thank you for all the hard work you do!